The Easter Bunny Challenge
by MoreBonesPlz
Summary: A fun (hopefully) little piece where Booth has a special Easter request of Brennan that clashes with her irreligious beliefs creating some tension in the Booth-Brennan household until they resolve their differences. B&B loving within – enter at your own risk. Set in Season 10.
1. Throwing Down the Gauntlet

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing _Bones_ related except my imagination.

* * *

**A/N:** _I wanted to do something with an Easter theme, but my puckish muse was not in the mood for sweet and sentimental and I ended up with this not so prim-and-proper piece instead. This will be presented in 3 chapters, hopefully posted one a day, now through Sunday but I've a lot of writing to do still to make that happen. In the meantime, hop along and start reading. _

_As always, feedback is appreciated (and helps keep me focused ….)_

* * *

Brennan was sitting at the dining table in the sun room, enjoying the warm early spring sunlight filtering in through the windows while working on a chapter for her latest forensic crime mystery novel when Booth and Christine came clambering in, disrupting her peaceful haven.

"Heya, Bones," Booth greeted her cheerily, coming over and giving her a quick kiss on the top of her head. "We stopped on the way home from church and picked up some doughnuts from that little Dutch bakery you like."

"We gots you a glazed one Mommy," Christine chimed in excitedly. "Daddy let me eat a really big one that had chocolate frosting with pretty sprinkles in different colors on it."

"Hmmm. I can see that," said Brennan affectionately while Booth ducked into the kitchen, guiltily avoiding eye contact with her. "It looks like you still have some of that chocolate from your doughnut on your face. Go on into the bathroom and clean up, face and hands, okay honey? Then you can go to your room and change out of your church clothes and into some play clothes."

"Okay Mommy," Christine answered before turning and skipping merrily down the hallway to do as her mother instructed.

"Make sure to put your dirty clothes in the laundry basket," she hollered after her daughter.

Brennan cocked an eyebrow at Booth and gave him a stern you-ought-to-know-better look. "She doesn't need a sugary treat every time you guys leave the house, you know. Neither do you."

With a slightly abashed look on his face, Booth responded, "I know Bones. But, it's such a pretty day outside today. One of the first really nice days we've had since winter set in and I just felt like doing something fun and special with her. Besides," he flashed her his best charm smile while placing her glazed doughnut on a plate and setting it in front of her along with a fresh cup of coffee, "it gave you a little more time to yourself to work on your book and I thought you'd appreciate that."

Rolling her eyes at him and his blatant attempt to divert her ire, she picked up her doughnut and took a bite. "Mmmm. This _is_ really good."

"They're super fresh. The ones Christine and I had were still warm when we ate them." Booth said as he sat down at the table beside her with the newspaper and started to scan the sports section while she continued with her late-morning snack.

By the time she finished eating her treat, she'd mostly lost her desire to fuss at him. "Okay. Admittedly, that was very tasty, so thank you for getting it for me. However, maybe you can try and refrain from giving her anymore sweets for a couple weeks, hmm? Think that's possible?"

Booth tried, unsuccessfully, to keep from squirming in his chair when her crystal blue eyes speared him with a promise of retribution if he didn't adhere to her suggestion. "Well, uhmm, actually that's not really possible right now Bones. Next weekend is Easter and our church always hosts a big Easter egg hunt for the children. Christine's already looking forward to it and she's bound to come home with a basket full of candy." As he noticed her brows furrowing together, he quickly came up with a compromise. "But, after Easter, I promise I'll try to lay off the sweet treats with her for a bit, okay?"

"Your religion defines Easter as a holiday for celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ following his crucifixion by the Romans. I don't see why it's necessary for our daughter to root around in a garden looking for fake eggs full of candy to stick in a pastel colored plastic basket in order to honor that belief. There's no logical correlation between the two events. Are you planning to have an Easter bunny there as well?" she asked in that slightly superior and somewhat dismissively arrogant tone she often adopted when debating Booth on matters involving religion.

"Weeelllll . . ." Booth responded hesitantly, looking down to where his hands were clasped together in front of him, fingers entwined. "Actually . . . I was going to talk to you about that."

The tone of his voice immediately putting Brennan on alert and making her suspect she wasn't going to like where this conversation was headed. "What? Why talk to me?"

"I, uhm . . . well, I was hoping that maybe, um, maybe you'd be willing to dress up as our Easter Bunny for us?"

"No."

"You know, since it's for the sake of the children?" he pressed on, ignoring her refusal.

"No."

"You'd be ideal since you're not involved in any of the other church activities," he reasoned.

"No."

"Besides, you're the right size for the costume we've got."

"You're kidding me, right? That's why you want me? I'm the right size?"

"No, I'm not kidding. You'd be perfect."

Hazarding a glance her way, Booth saw Brennan glaring at him mutinously and he sighed deeply, resigning himself to begging if necessary. Drastic times require drastic measures, but he wasn't giving up on reasoning quite yet. "Look, Betty Trimble was all set to be the Easter bunny for us, but she tripped on some stairs last week and twisted her ankle pretty severely so she's on crutches for the next few weeks. We can't have the Easter bunny on crutches. Derek Thompson said he'd fill in, but he fills the costume a little too full and can't close the zipper all the way. Margie Smith offered to take Betty's place, but Margie is only 5'-1" tall and the costume is way too big for her. Talk about a floppy bunny. But you're perfect. At 5'-9" tall and with a figure that's …" Booth shook his head in awe while his eyes ran over her body appreciatively, "… a _gorgeous_ figure that's only full where it should be, the costume would fit you perfectly. Best damn looking bunny ever."

"Booth," she argued, ignoring the warm fuzzy feelings generated by his flattery, "I am an atheist. I don't believe in Jesus. I don't believe in Easter. And I certainly don't believe in Easter bunnies. Don't you think it would be hypocritical, if not flat out sacrilegious, for me, of all people, to partake in your festivities dressed as a giant Lepus curpaeums?"

Booth plopped his elbow on the table and rested his cheek against his hand while grinning at her fondly. Hot damn – she's speaking squint. She always reverted to speaking squint when she felt she was starting to lose an argument, hoping the big words would intimidate her opponent. She was going to cave. "Man, you have no idea how much I love you Bones. You'll do great." He cranked up the wattage of his smile and gazed at her with his warm brown eyes. "You'll see. It'll be fun."

Exasperated, Brennan continued to balk, although his obvious happiness and faith in her eventual capitulation was wearing her resistance down and she wasn't sure how much longer she'd be able to hold out. "No, Booth. I said no. Hell, I'd make a better Playboy bunny than a damn Easter bunny," she grumbled. "At least I believe in physical beauty and sex."

Anyone who knew Booth knew that he was a fan of vintage 1950's to 1970's paraphernalia and since the Playboy bunnies were essentially a product of the 1960's to 1970's, not to mention a frequent inspiration for his teen year masturbatory activities, the image that popped into his mind of Brennan dressed in a classic Playboy bunny outfit was his ideal fantasy fodder and he felt the immediate swelling of his anatomy south of his belt line. "Jesus Bones. Just the thought of you as a Playboy bunny has me hard as a rock. Seeing you actually dressed that way would probably kill me."

"Yeah?" a grin slowly slid across her face and she smiled at him with wicked interest, leaning his direction.

"Oh yeah," he confirmed, leaning towards her too, until their faces were only inches apart, looking directly into her eyes the way they'd lost themselves so many times before. "If I didn't expect our daughter to make an appearance any minute now, I'd haul you out of that seat and fuck you right now, right here on the dining table," he growled throatily at her.

Brennan couldn't say how long they stayed frozen that way, each of them envisioning him acting on his claim as they stared back and forth. All she knew for sure was that they both were breathing quicker than normal, Booth's eyes were dilated and she assumed hers were too, and her nipples had pebbled into hard little nubs, aching for his attention. She was aroused by the simple knowledge that he was aroused by her.

Despite the looming threat of being interrupted by their underage chaperone, she closed the gap and let her lips slide sensuously across his, her tongue drawn irresistibly into his mouth to tangle and entwine with his only to be chased back into her mouth by his tongue as he aggressively explored her lips, her teeth, and the insides of her cheeks. His tongue stroked hers deeply, then retreated so his teeth could nip the plump flesh of her lips only to soothe her with the warm and wet sucking caress of his lips before repeating the sequence again.

They didn't touch anywhere except where their mouths intersected, both realizing on some level that any more contact might make stopping nigh impossible and this wasn't the time or place. That didn't mean his cock wasn't as hard as steel for her or her panties weren't soaked with desire for him.

"Ugh, Daaaddyyy. Why are you always kissing on Mommy like that?"

The predictable sing-song little voice of Christine causing them to finally, reluctantly, break apart.

"She started it," he answered.

In a voice that was low and husky, Brennan whispered just loud enough for his ears only, "I'm still not dressing up as an Easter bunny no matter how much I like your kisses."

"Can I watch a Barbie movie? Please?"

"Just one, then you need to play something else." Booth answered her before whispering to Brennan that he needed a few minutes to calm down before he could get up.

His eyes followed Brennan thoughtfully as she left the table to help their daughter start her movie and he pondered his bunny dilemma.

Asking her outright hadn't worked.

Reasoning with her hadn't worked.

Charming her hadn't worked.

Seducing her hadn't worked either.

It was obviously time to pull the big guns out of his arsenal.

As Brennan sat back down in front of her computer at the table, Booth made his pitch. "Okay Bones. Here's my proposition for you. Friday, five days from now, is Good Friday, commemorating the crucifixion and death of Jesus. If you can make it until midnight, Friday night, without making any comments about faith, religion, my God, or Easter that could be considered offensive or disparaging OR if I _can't_ make it until midnight Friday without eating another sugary sweet treat, then you're off the hook on the bunny costume. But, if you make any controversial or annoying comments AND I manage to resist all sweets, then Easter Sunday morning I expect you to dress in a fluffy white bunny suit and entertain the children of my church congregation with a smile and a swish of your fluffy cotton tail."

Booth was certain she'd bite as Bones could never resist a competition. Unfortunately for him, her accepting his challenge didn't guarantee the outcome.

"What if I win?" she asked. "Won't it be too late for you to start looking for someone else to wear the costume that close to Easter?"

Booth sighed in resignation. _Here comes the cherry on top._ "If you win Bones, then I'll wear the bunny costume on Easter. It'll be a little tight in the shoulders and I doubt I'll have quite as much mobility as you would, but I can make it fit."

The possibility of seeing Booth dressed as an Easter bunny was too enticing to resist.

"You have a deal, Booth. Bring it on over."

* * *

**A/N:** _Let me state right now that it is not my intention to be disrespectful of anyone's religious beliefs or of a holiday that is significant to many people so I will apologize in advance if I cause any offense (not that I am expecting to but religion can be a quirky thing)._

_So . . . who do you think will make a better bunny?_


	2. All's Fair in Love and War

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing _Bones_ related except my imagination.

* * *

"Damn." Angela muttered under her breath. A glance at the clock indicated it was almost lunch time and she just realized she and Jack had run out of the house that morning and left their lunches still sitting in the refrigerator. Ever since that worthless excuse of humanity, Christopher Pelant, had siphoned off all of Jack's money from his various bank accounts and investments, they had made an effort to minimize how much they spent on frivolous things, like eating lunch out every day, but it had been a battle that morning getting Michael Vincent to cooperate with getting ready for daycare and they both got distracted. What a way to start the week.

Getting up from her desk where she'd been working on some new source code for some additional features she was wanting to incorporate into the Angela-tron, she went in search of her husband.

"Hey Sweetie," she greeted him as she entered his bug room. "We forgot our lunches at home. Do you want to grab a bite to eat together?"

Jack Hodgins looked up from his Bunsen burner, goggles securely wrapped around his head making him look like he had giant bug eyes, tufts of hair sticking out the sides. "I can't right now babe. I'm in the middle of something here and won't be able to take a break for another hour or so. Why don't you join Dr. Brennan for lunch? It's been a while since the two of you went out together."

"Hmmm. I'm not going to ask what you're doing there because I want to be able to enjoy eating my lunch, but I guess I know where I rank when compared to one of your experiments," she teased him with a flirty little smirk.

His eyes twinkling, he wasn't the least bit worried. "Angie, you know that you are hotter than any Bunsen burner can ever get as far as I'm concerned."

Angela just laughed. "Well then, I guess I'll just go see if my bestie will let me join her and that sexy husband of hers for lunch. Want anything?"

"Yeah. If you're going to the diner, bring me back a roast beef sandwich and some fries. Thanks."

* * *

Brennan and Angela entered the diner together and saw Booth already seated at "their" table. They were in between cases right then, so they all sat together and just chatted about general things while they ate their lunches, Booth on one side of the table and Brennan and Angela on the other.

As they were finishing up, Jess, their waitress, came over to clear their dishes. "Piece of rhubarb pie for dessert, Agent Booth?"

"Oh, hell yeah," he responded with enthusiasm rubbing his hands together in delighted anticipation. Rhubarb pie was one of his favorites and they almost never had it at the diner. Typically they served apple, cherry, or blueberry pies with the occasional peach or apple cobbler available too. But rhubarb pie was a true rarity.

As Jess walked away, Booth looked back over towards his lunch companions and caught his wife trying to hide her smirk behind her coffee cup.

"Shit. I can't have the pie, can I?"

"That's up to you Booth," Brennan answered calmly, trying not to gloat over his forlorn expression. This was going to be too easy. "But if you do, you know what it means."

Suddenly suspicious, Booth squinted his eyes and stared hard at Brennan. "You did this, didn't you? Somehow, you are behind this. You're an evil woman, Bones. E-V-I-L."

Angela looked between the two partners, confused as to what the conversation was really about. "Hello," she waved her hands up by her head. "Clueless over here. Either one of you care to fill me in on what's really happening here?"

Smiling, Brennan turned to her friend to briefly explain. "Booth and I have challenge of sorts going on. One of us will be parading around the grounds of his church on Sunday, dressed in a giant Easter bunny costume, while the kids have their annual Easter egg hunt. If Booth eats any sweets or desserts between now and Friday, he wears the costume. If I say anything disrespectful about his religion, I wear the costume."

"Okay, this I have to see. Looks like Jack and I will be attending your church this Sunday morning Booth."

Jess returned placing Booth's pie in front of him and handing Angela her to-go sandwich order for Hodgins.

Booth looked at the pie and could feel himself salivating. It was beautiful. Really. An amazing piece of crimson sweet-and-tart delight with the crust a perfect golden brown color that looked like it would just melt in his mouth. He sighed dejectedly. "Thanks Jess, but you might as well put it in a to-go box and give it to Angela to take back to Hodgins at the lab."

"You sure about that Agent Booth? Dr. Brennan said you really like rhubarb pie."

Glaring over at his wife who looked like she was having entirely too much fun at his expense, he now knew without a doubt she'd tried to sabotage him. "Yes. She's so thoughtful towards me, isn't she? It must have slipped her mind that I'm on a short-term diet. Tell me, Jess . . . when did she request you make this pie?"

Oblivious to the undertones, Jess answered. "Oh, she called here real early this morning, must've been before 7 AM, and asked if we could make it for you as a special favor to her. She even offered me four signed copies of her latest novel to share with my book club in appreciation." Picking up the pie to go put it in a to-go container, Jess winked and smiled at Booth. "She must love you very much. Too bad she forgot about your diet."

"You have no idea." He grumbled. As Jess walked away, he turned back to Brennan who didn't look at all disturbed at being found out. "That was cheating Bones," he accused.

"What? No. No, it wasn't. You never stipulated any conditions to our challenge Booth. Besides, what's that phrase – all's fair in love and combat?"

"War, Bones. All's fair in love and war and that's what you've got now baby. No more Mister Nice Guy. You're going down Bones."

* * *

A couple days later, Agent James Aubrey approached his desk in the FBI bullpen ready to tackle another day. Operating on auto-pilot like any good government drone does at 8 AM, he pulled his chair out from his desk to sit down and discovered a brown bakery box with a dozen doughnuts inside sitting in his chair. Being the ace FBI agent he was, he immediately noticed the little white envelope in the corner and took out the card, looking for a clue.

_James,_

_Just a little something I thought you'd enjoy. You're becoming a valued asset to our team and I appreciate that you have Booth's back when I'm not there. Thank you._

_Temperance_

Well, wasn't that considerate of her, thought Aubrey, reaching into the box and removing one of the decadent pastries. Aubrey couldn't understand why people were so intimidated by Dr. Brennan. Since he'd arrived in the DC field office, she'd been nothing but warm, welcoming and supportive to him.

Glancing up and seeing his mentor just entering his office, Aubrey figured it would only be right to offer to share his unexpected treasure with Booth. While he wouldn't hesitate to polish off a half-dozen doughnuts on his own, twelve was a bit much, even for him, so he could afford to be magnanimous with them. Licking the sugar off his fingers, he grabbed the box and headed for Booth's office.

"Morning Booth," Aubrey greeted, walking into the room. "Would you like a doughnut?"

Booth, who had just sat down at his desk looked up at Aubrey with a frown. "Why would you ask me that? Where did you get those?"

Raising his eyebrows in surprise at the vibe of aggression, Aubrey froze in his tracks. "I'll take that as a 'no' to the doughnut. You, uh, may want to cut back on the caffeinated coffee a bit there though boss. You're getting a bit ornery."

Leaning back in his chair and trying to ignore the sweet temptation, Booth eyed Aubrey suspiciously. "Did Bones put you up to this?"

Confused, Aubrey responded "By 'this' I assume you mean offering you a doughnut? No. I haven't spoken to her. But, the doughnuts were a gift from her. You know, to thank me for keeping your butt out of trouble when she's not around to watch out for you." Aubrey gave a little half smile. "She's a good woman and you're a lucky man Agent Booth."

Booth snorted and rolled his eyes. "She definitely keeps me on my toes. Hey, thanks for the offer and I apologize for snapping at you but I'm gonna pass this time around."

"Alright. Your loss."

As Aubrey turned and left the office, Booth pulled the old poker chip out of his pocket and started unconsciously rubbing it between his fingers as he stared out the window, lost in thought. He'd obviously underestimated his adversary. She was usually such a straight forward charge-full-steam-ahead person that he hadn't anticipated her attempts to strategically undermine him from the flanks. Somehow, he was going to have to find a way to step up his game or she was going to trounce him.

* * *

For better or worse, they got a call mid-morning about a body that had been found floating in an eddy on the Virginia side of the Potomac River at Great Falls National Park just downstream of the Great Falls. The body was pretty banged up, presumably from going over the water fall at the park, but the Jeffersonian team had been brought in to help identify the deceased and to confirm that the damage to the body was all postmortem and not perimortem or antemortem. Unfortunately, despite all the warnings and posted signs to be cautious, every year there were a few people that ended up in the river with unhappy results. The Potomac River was not a swimmer friendly body of water, especially within the bounds of the National Park.

The rest of the day was spent investigating the evidence affiliated with the deceased to try and determine the correct sequence of events that led up to discovery of the body. By late afternoon, they had ascertained that the body was of a young Caucasian male in his mid-twenties and that he was most likely the victim of foul play. There was no water in his lungs which indicated he did not drown and a couple of the severe contusions and fractures to his body appeared to have occurred prior to his death and could potentially provide the cause of death. They were still analyzing the evidence and physical damage.

The presumed time of death was less than 24 hours prior to discovery of the body and there was no one listed in the missing person's database that met the victim's description. It was probably still too soon after his disappearance for him to have been reported missing yet. They hadn't had any luck getting an identification off the driver's license database either.

He did have several simple tattoos on his upper body and since it was dinner time, Brennan was meeting Booth and Aubrey at the Founding Fathers to show them photographs of the tattoos and discuss how the FBI might use the tattoos to help them identify the victim.

Brennan pulled out a picture of a swastika inside a circle and a picture of a wheel, similar to what you see on nautical decorations.

Booth looked at the pictures, then handed them to Aubrey. "So, our victim was into Nazism and sailing, huh? You think he was some sort of white supremacist?"

"No, he wasn't into Nazism, he was in Buddhism, which can't be too common among young Caucasian males living in this region." Aubrey corrected.

Confused, Booth asked "How do you get Buddhism from a swastika?"

"By the direction the arms on the cross are pointing, which could be Buddhist or Hindu, plus the wheel, which is Buddhist."

"Very good Agent Aubrey," Brennan commended him. "He's correct Booth. The swastika is an ancient symbol found worldwide in religious iconography that is thousands of years old. In Hinduism, the clockwise orientation of the arms is a symbol of the sun and portends good fortune while the counterclockwise symbol represents magic. The Buddhist symbol is almost always clockwise, like this one, while the Nazi symbol was counterclockwise, which is more typical of occult beliefs. The wheel is the 8-spoked Dharma wheel which represents reincarnation in Buddhism. I'm quite impressed that you knew that James."

"Well, you know, I minored in religion in college."

Out of the corner of his eye, Booth saw Brennan start to say something, then snap her mouth shut.

Booth turned to her. "What do you think of that, Bones? Our boy wonder here is a devout believer in religion."

Jaw clenched to keep from commenting, she simply grunted in acknowledgement.

"What's the matter Bones? Cat got your tongue?" Booth taunted her.

"I'm not engaging, Booth. You won't get me that easily."

Looking back and forth between Booth and Brennan, Aubrey observed "There's something going on here that I don't get, isn't there?"

Booth grinned at the younger man, "Just a friendly little husband-wife competition we've got going on. Nothing to worry about."

"Well, whatever it's about, my money's on Dr. Brennan."

Booth just looked at him incredulously. "Whoa whoa whoa. Hold on a second there buddy. You're supposed to have _my_ back!"

"Hey. She's beautiful, she's brilliant, and she bought me doughnuts. You'd do the same thing in my shoes."

"Thank you, James."

* * *

**A/N:** _So, I should have started this story sooner and had more chapters. There were so many possibilities of how to torment Booth and Brennan during the week that trying to capture even a few in just one chapter made for short, choppy segments and flow a little more challenging. Live and learn. Hope it still read OK. Still hoping to get the last chapter up tomorrow, but reality is I may be a day or two late._


	3. Paying the Piper

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing _Bones_ related except my imagination.

* * *

**A/N:** _Okay. Last chapter. There were so many scenes still in my head though, that it got a little long. Might've made more sense to break it up, but I wanted Easter on Easter. Assume no one will complain too much._

* * *

By the next evening, they had successfully identified the victim, determined the cause of death, recreated the most likely scenario to explain how he was killed, ending up in the Potomac, and had a pretty good lead on a viable murder suspect. They just needed a little more evidence to tie their suspect to the crime, which shouldn't be too hard to get now that they knew where to look.

Booth and Brennan were returning home from interviewing a friend of the victims who had provided them some valuable insight into some of the recent activities the victim had been involved in. Since they'd traveled about an hour outside of town to conduct the afternoon interview, Max had picked up Christine from her daycare and was babysitting her at their house until they could get home.

As they entered the house, they were greeted by the fragrant smells of food cooking in the kitchen.

"Daddy!" Christine, who'd been sitting on one of the stools at the kitchen counter, jumped down and immediately ran to Booth, who picked her up and swung her around in a hug, enjoying the tinkling sound of her giggles as he planted a big smooch on her cheek.

"Did you cook us dinner, Dad?" Brennan asked, glancing over to where Max stood in the kitchen.

"Your little princess and I did it together. We made a vegetarian lasagna, which should be ready in about 10 more minutes."

"Thanks Dad." Brennan said as she went over and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "You didn't have to do that, but we appreciate it. It smells wonderful."

Max grinned. "I wasn't sure how late you'd be and Christine and I were getting hungry. Besides, it's Holy Thursday and I figure if Jesus could lower himself to wash the feet of his 12 Apostles before his last supper to prove his love and selflessness, then the least I could do was make you dinner."

Brennan shook her head in denial, but didn't comment.

Max raised his brows at her uncharacteristic reticence regarding his comment.

"Why don't you and Booth go change or wash up or whatever you need to do while Christine and I finish setting the table. We've got a salad and some bread to go with the lasagna."

After dinner, Booth volunteered to clear the table and wash the dishes while Brennan said good night to Max. As she walked him to the door, Christine in her arms, her daughter reached for Max "Goodbye hug Grandpa Max."

"You bet, Princess." He said as he leaned in to give her a big hug and a kiss.

"Are you coming to church with us for Easter?" she asked her Grandpa.

"Us? Is your mom going too?" Max asked, looking at Brennan for confirmation.

"Oh. Uh, Christine, Mommy doesn't usually go to church with you and Daddy. You know that." Brennan reminded her daughter.

Nonplussed, Christine just shrugged her shoulders. "I know Mommy, but this is Easter. It's special. And, after the cer'mony, all the kids get to go on a huge-a-mongous Easter egg hunt. Father Donovan says there will even be a big Easter bunny there. If you come with us, maybe you can have some candy too."

Brennan smiled at her daughter's excitement and enthusiasm, but just murmured "We'll see honey. We'll see."

* * *

The next morning, Brennan came out of the bedroom to find Booth and Christine sitting together in the sun room – cereal, milk, and fruit already set out on the dining table. She grabbed a bowl and spoon for herself from the kitchen and went to join them.

"Morning pumpkin," she greeted Christine, giving her a quick kiss on top of her head, then trailed her fingers along Booth's shoulders as she walked behind him to take her seat across from Christine.

"I missed you in bed this morning," she commented softly to Booth. "You must've gotten up extremely early. Everything okay?" she inquired, her voice laced with concern.

"Hmm, yeah. It's just, you know, Good Friday and I'm hoping to attend the service at the church this afternoon so I wanted to get up early, while it was still quiet, and take care of a few things." Leaning over and brushing a soft kiss across her cheek, he promised "I'll make it up to you later. Fair enough?"

Brennan smiled at him sweetly and just nodded her head.

"Mommy? Why do they call it Good Friday? Shouldn't every Friday be a good one?" Christine questioned, her brows scrunched together in confusion.

Brennan glanced over at Booth who was looking at Christine in surprise. Brennan might be an avowed atheist, but she had promised Booth a long time ago that she would not interfere with him sharing his religion with their daughter. "That might be a question that's better for your Daddy to answer. Booth?"

Booth nodded his head but, before he could respond, Christine interrupted. "No, Mommy. You answer." Christine loved her daddy and she asked him lots and lots (and lots) of questions all the time, but sometimes she thought he gave her make believe answers. Her mom was super smart and Christine believed that her mom always tried to give her true answers and on some level, she knew that this topic was a hard one for adults to talk to children about. She knew her mom had answers to just about everything.

Again, Brennan looked to Booth to get his nod of approval before she slid her chair back slightly from the table, inviting Christine to come sit on her lap while she tried to organize her thoughts and determine how best to explain a very complicated religious topic in simple terms while not betraying either Booth's beliefs or her own.

"Well, honey, of course we want every Friday to be a good one, just like we want every Tuesday and every Sunday and every other day of the week to be good ones too. But, when people talk specifically about Good Friday, they're talking about the Friday right before Easter."

"But why is that the gooder one? What makes it special?"

One arm around Christine's waist, Brennan gently combed her fingers through her daughter's hair. "Do you know the story of Jesus?"

Christine nodded. "He was God's son. He was killed, but then he was all better again on Easter."

"Yes, that's right. According to the Bible, his death occurred on the Friday before Easter."

"That doesn't sound good."

"No, it doesn't," Brennan agreed with a soft chuckle. "His death wasn't good, but his reason for dying was. The Bible states that Jesus knew God was angry with a lot of the people and his death provided a way to make God happy with them again. While that was bad for Jesus, it was good for the other people. Now, it's time for you to go brush your teeth and finish getting ready for daycare, okay?"

"Okay. Thanks Mommy." Christine turned and gave Brennan a big hug around her neck and a kiss on the cheek before scrambling off her lap and running down the hall towards her room.

Booth reached over and placed his hand over hers on the table, giving her fingers a reassuring queeze. It was moments like these when she frequently surprised him with her discretion, especially given how little tact she employed most of the rest of the time. "Well done Bones. Thanks."

* * *

Later that morning, Angela wandered into Brennan's office and plopped down unceremoniously on her sofa, tilting her head back and closing her eyes, coffee cup clutched in her hands on her lap. "Ugh. I need a break. It feels like I've been looking at that computer screen for hours," she complained.

Brennan looked up from the paperwork she'd been filling out, not sure what type of response was expected of her. "Am I expected to respond to that?"

Smiling at the typical Brennan-esqueness of that question, Angela responded "Not really Sweetie. You're just supposed to listen to me grumble and occasionally make sympathetic cooing sounds so I can pretend my pitiful woes are making an impression on you."

"Hmph." Still perplexed with respect to Angela's expectations, Brennan shared "I'm not entirely certain what you mean."

"I know." Opening her eyes and sitting forward on the chair, Angela decided to initiate a real conversation. "So, tell me, how are things going in the challenge between you and Booth? Anyone caved on their part yet? Have you resolved who's going to be the Giant Easter Bunny?"

Picking up her own coffee cup and sitting back in her desk chair, Brennan answered. "No. So far, we've both managed to refrain from violating our imposed restrictions. Our competition ends tonight and if we both manage to hold strong, then by default, I win the challenge." Looking down into her coffee cup, Brennan pondered why she wasn't as excited about the prospect of a likely victory as she should be.

"Wait. Why do you win? What inspired this bet between you guys anyway?"

"It's not a bet, Ange." Brennan clarified. "With Booth's gambling past, we don't make bets. It's just a little friendly competition."

"Whatever. Sounds like semantics to me. Why'd you guys start this _challenge_ anyway?"

Brennan turned her unfocused gaze out towards the lab, thinking back to their conversation from almost a week ago and how the competition had come about. "The person from Booth's church who was supposed to wear the bunny costume got injured, so Booth asked me if I would help out and fill in for her. I said no so he made this wager with me. The deal was that if I broke my rule, I'd wear the costume, but if he broke his rule, we both broke our rules, or we had a stalemate, he'd wear the costume." Saying it out loud like that to Angela, Brennan felt like she'd behaved in a way that was selfish and petty and she realized she was starting to regret her refusal. Booth had made a deal with her that was decidedly unfair in her favor and in retrospect, that didn't feel like good sportsmanship to her.

"Temperance Brennan!" Angela shook her head in disappointment. "I wish I could say I'm surprised at you, but I'm not. Not really. However, as your best friend, I am telling you right now that it better be you in that costume on Sunday. Booth's a good man trying to do a good thing for a lot of people and despite your religious beliefs, or lack thereof, he's your partner and your husband and he deserves your support."

Thinking back to the night before when Max had been leaving the house and Christine had pled her case as to why she assumed her mother would be going to church with them, Brennan realized that was probably the turning point when she realized agreeing to wear the costume was probably the right thing to do.

"I know, Ange." Brennan looked over at her friend with a wry twist to her lips. "Believe it or not, I pretty much came to that conclusion myself already."

* * *

Booth entered his home later that evening, his mood quiet and somber after attending the afternoon services at the Catholic Church. He just wanted to spend a quiet night at home with his favorite girls, relaxing . . . maybe even taking a long soak in the tub.

"Daddy!"

He heard the excited holler just as he noticed the small flurry of arms and legs barreling his way from the direction of the kitchen. He braced for impact as his daughter jumped up into his embrace for their ritualistic greeting of spinning in a circle while getting hugs and kisses.

Booth pulled his head back from her face and frowned at her. "You smell like chocolate," he accused.

Christine just giggled. "That's 'cause I made you some brownies Daddy."

"Real ones?" he asked, knowing she had a very big sweet tooth for imaginary cakes and cookies.

"Of course," she answered in an arrogant tone of incredulity that sounded all too similar to her mother.

Squirming to be set down, she grabbed two fingers on his hand as soon as her feet hit the ground and pulled, dragging him behind her. "C'mon Daddy. You gots to try a brownie while they're still warm cause that's your favorite."

Pulling up a seat at the kitchen bar/counter and lifting Christine on to his lap, Booth resigned himself to surrendering his challenge with Bones. Competition or no competition, there was no way he could refuse a brownie and risk watching the light of pride and excitement in his little girl's eyes go out.

Brennan stood behind the counter, spatula in hand as she divided the brownies in the pan into even little squares and scooped them out to cool on the baking rack. Despite feeling mildly annoyed with her for using Christine against him in their challenge, a blow that he believed definitely fell below the belt but was too weary to fuss about, he still couldn't help but respond to the tug of attraction he felt at the domestic scene she represented. Casually dressed in leggings and a loose fitting button down blouse, feet bare, with a smudge of flour on her chin, he acknowledged to himself that, as difficult as she may sometimes be, he was still crazy about her.

Looking up from the brownie pan, she asked "How was your day, Booth? I assume the liturgy focused on the Jesus m-y-t-h."

Booth's shoulders dropped in exasperation. "Really, Bones? You know I _hate_ it when you refer to it as a myth," he growled in annoyed frustration.

Brennan, a slight smile tilting her lips, looked him right in the eye and responded "Yes. I know."

Booth cocked his head, unprepared for that response. It took several seconds of them staring into each other's eyes for him to understand what had just transpired. "You just forfeited," he finally blurted out as the implication sank in and he realized she had just deliberately lost the challenge by intentionally annoying him.

Mindful of the little girl on his lap who still didn't know Easter bunnies were really the parents, Brennan just shrugged her shoulders and explained. "I changed my mind. I'd like to help you and I think you're right, it'll be fun."

Seeing the huge smile that lit up his face, she knew she'd done the right thing, even if it took her a while, and she couldn't help but smile back at him too.

Shifting Christine to his left side, Booth reached out with his right arm, grabbed the back of Brennan's neck, and pulled her over the counter for a quick yet intense kiss (with tongue, of course).

"Daadddyyy," wailed his little girl.

"Sorry Princess," Booth said as he released Brennan and sat back fully in his chair. "I just couldn't wait for one of your brownies and Mommy had some chocolate on her lips, so I decided to steal a quick taste," he teased. Looking back at his wife, he asked "When do we get our brownies, Bones?"

"Well, we really should eat dinner first. I was just going to heat up some leftovers so it shouldn't take long."

"Nope. Christine says I need to eat one while they're still warm. We can do dinner after dessert tonight. I promise to still eat all my veggies. You do too, right Princess?"

"Right Daddy."

"Well, if you're sure." Brennan capitulated and put three brownies on little plates, one for each of them.

* * *

The next day was spent doing standard life maintenance type things. Brennan took Christine with her to the grocery store, the post office, and the laundromat. Booth spent most of the day doing chores around the house, especially outside in the yard where there was lots to do now that spring had finally started to settle in.

By evening, Booth just wanted to sit on the couch and watch the NCAA Final Four college basketball games. He never participated in the March Madness office betting pools, but he always filled out a tournament bracket of his own and this year, he had teams in both of the Final Four competitions – Duke's Blue Devils and Kentucky's Wildcats and he was eager to see if one, or both, would make it to the final playoff game on Monday night.

The first game of the night, Duke versus Michigan State was dominated by the North Carolina team. Even more surprisingly, the high point scorers for the basketball team were a couple of freshmen. When that game was over, he helped get Christine bathed and tucked in to bed for the night before settling down to watch the next game.

Hearing Brennan shuffling around in the kitchen, he hollered over at her, "Hey Bones, would you mind bringing me a beer?"

A moment later, a hand appeared over his shoulder offering a freshly uncapped beer bottle. Booth reached to take it before registering that around the wrist of that arm was a white dress wrist cuff fastened with a medium sized silver and blue cuff link.

With a quick double take, Booth turned and looked over his shoulder at Brennan and just about dropped the beer bottle in his hands. Bones stood behind him looking like a perfect wet dream dressed from head to toe in a classic Playboy bunny costume and wearing a sexy come-hither look on her face. The satin bunny ears were the same cobalt blue as her strapless merry widow corset teddy and matching high-heeled shoes. Snowy white wrist cuff bands encircled the ends of each arm and a matching snowy white collar wrapped around her neck, displaying a silky looking black bow-tie in the front. Her long legs were encased in black sheer to waist pantyhose which enhanced her firm, toned leg muscles that looked perfect for wrapping around his waist. Pinned over her right hip bone was a white satin rosette name tag with the name "Bones" written in the center.

"Holy shit, Bones," he choked out as he stared at her, not quite capable of stringing together any more words than that.

She gave him a smile that was pure seduction. "Like the costume, Booth?"

"Uh huh." He nodded, trying not to start drooling. "Come around here so I can see you better," he added in a rough, sexy voice.

As she turned to make her way around the couch, Booth could see the large white fluffy cotton tail situated on the rise of her ass. He couldn't decide what was sexier . . . watching the graceful flow of her long legs as she made her way towards him in those deliciously high-heeled shoes . . . the subtle back-and-forth sway of the bunny tail that drew his focus to her rear end as she walked . . . or the way every movement made it appear as if her luscious breasts which were swelling over the top of the corset would spill forth at any moment now, revealing her nipples for his enjoyment.

"Didn't you want to watch the basketball game?" she asked, stopping a couple feet away in front of him in the classic 'Playboy Bunny Stance' with her legs together, back arched, and hips tucked under.

"Fuck the game, Bones. Kentucky's undefeated so they're going to win anyway," he growled reaching for the remote and turning the TV off without a moment's hesitation before sitting back on the couch.

Brennan took the last couple steps necessary to place her right next to him, then slowly lifted one leg at a time and planted her knees on the couch, one on either side of his, so she was straddling his hips, hands on his shoulders, and her chest just inches from his face. "Did you know that the Playboy Bunny outfit was the first outfit registered as a service uniform with the United States Patent and Trademark Office?"

"Jesus, Bones." How could she talk squint when he could barely breath, his heart was pounding so hard?

This close, he could smell the sweet, familiar scent that was uniquely hers as she let her hands roam from his shoulders, up his neck into his hair, then back down again to lightly stroke and caress his pectoral muscles. He lifted his hands and placed them gently on her hips, feeling the soft, satiny material beneath his fingertips as she flicked her sharp little fingernails across his nipples beneath his t-shirt, eliciting an uncontrolled moan from him.

Booth was so aroused he was concerned that the minute his cock was released from his jeans, he would spend – the uncomfortable bite of the zipper against his iron hard flesh the only thing keeping him from losing it right now.

As Brennan sat back slowly on her haunches so she could bring her mouth closer to his, Booth stretched forward and grasped her lips with his. His warm, firm lips caressed hers as his tongue plundered the recesses of her mouth stroking her tongue with a fevered urgency that reflected the way he wanted to pound into her pussy with his cock. Wild and out of control, passionate and uninhibited – just the way she said she liked it.

Unable to sit passively with her on his lap, Booth slid his hands from her waist towards her back, then down, stroking the firm globes of her ass. He slid one hand forward, caressing her thigh, while he let the fingers of the other hand slip under the elastic leg band of her corset, gripping her ass cheek more fully.

Brennan broke their kiss on a moan that sent ripples of desire shooting straight towards Booth's erection as the fingers he'd slid inside her corset slid forward and discovered that her sheer black pantyhose were crotch-less, allowing him to feel the moisture gathering between her nether lips.

"Yes," she hissed.

She dug her fingers into his hair and pulled him closer at the same time she arched her back, forcing his lips to slide down her neck towards her bountiful chest. With his free hand, Booth reached up and hooked a finger in the top of her corset, right between her breasts, and gave a little tug. The cobalt blue material slipped over the tips of her breasts until they popped free, displaying her rosy nipples for his pleasure.

She reached for his free hand and placed it over her breast. His fingers molded around the firm mound, lifting and squeezing the plump flesh as she pressed herself firmly into his hand. Booth lowered his head to the breast he was fondling and started to slowly swirl his tongue around her aureole, before gently squeezing her nipple between his teeth, then soothing it with a swipe of his warm, moist tongue.

Meanwhile, his other hand wasn't sitting idle. He stroked his fingers back and forth through her slippery slit, teasing the opening to her pussy. He couldn't quite reach her clit from this angle, but he continued to run his fingertips over the slick folds of her pussy, amazed at how wet she was.

The breathy little sounds coming from her throat told him she was just as turned on as he was and it wouldn't take much more to make her cum, just like this, both of them still almost fully clothed.

Brennan ran her hands down to his waist and tugged at the hem of his shirt. She pulled at the fabric and Booth had to slip his hands free of her moist cavity in order to let her pull it off over his head. Once bare, she ran her hands over the supple muscles of his chest, relishing the feel of the firm, warm muscles rippling beneath her palms.

"God, Bones." Booth groaned. "I love this outfit on you, but I need to get inside you now. I'm about to explode here."

"I know, Booth. I need to feel you inside me," she answered him in a sultry voice. "I want to ride your cock when I cum and I'm so close already."

Brennan reached down and unfastened the snap at the waist of Booths jeans, then slowly slid down his zipper until he fell free, into her hands.

"Commando?" she smiled at him. "Lucky me."

She slipped off his lap long enough to reach behind her and loosen the fastenings to her corset then shimmy it down her body while Booth pushed his pants down past his knees. Then she crawled back into his lap, still wearing the bunny ears, bow-tie, cufflinks, crotch-less pantyhose, and high heels. She grasped the root of his erection and pointed the head towards her pussy, letting it slide back-and-forth in her slick folds for a moment before finally slipping it inside and lowering herself until he was fully embedded within her. Her pussy stretched to accommodate him as her walls clenched hungrily at his cock.

"Aaaaahhh," they groaned in unison.

Booth rocked his hips and thrust deep once, her channel rippling around him. He gritted his teeth to keep from coming too soon, wanting to be sure she reached her pleasure too.

He slipped a hand between them and slowly started to play with her clit, alternating his attention between caresses, tugs, and pinches.

Booth began to thrust as Brennan rocked back and forth, sliding up and down his member. At first, they kept the rhythm slow and easy but then she began to beg for "more" and "faster" so he picked up the pace and fucked her harder.

The sexual tension between them continued to climb until Brennan was poised on the brink of orgasm. She couldn't take much more. He thrust again, then once more, and she felt herself about to go over the edge as his cock slid home over and over. Finally, she cried out and came, her pussy clenching him hard and triggering his own release as they both plummeted over the edge. He yelled her name and pumped his hips several more times as he spilled himself inside her.

Brennan collapsed against Booth's chest and they stayed like that for several minutes, Booth's slowly softening cock still buried inside her as they each tried to catch their breaths.

"Holy fuck, Bones. That was . . . that was amazing." Booth finally managed to utter, wrapping his arms around the woman he loved and hugging her tight to his body.

"Mmmmmm," she responded groggily. "Maybe we should make this our own little Easter tradition. I know I'd anticipate the holiday with a lot more enthusiasm."

Booth just chuckled. "I love you Bones. Don't ever doubt that. You constantly surprise and amaze me and I love you more than I can ever express."

Sitting up so she could look him in the eyes, she smiled softly and reciprocated. "I love you too, Booth."

* * *

The next morning, the sun was shining and it was promising to be a beautiful day. Booth woke early, rolling over in bed and wrapping himself around his wife, loving the feel of her soft curves pressed up against the harder planes of his body.

"Five more minutes sleep," she mumbled, barely coherent. Booth nuzzled her neck and place a string of soft kisses along her jaw before pulling away reluctantly.

Brennan grabbed for him. "Don't go. It was just getting interesting."

Booth laughed, wishing he could stay and make love to her another dozen times at least. "Sorry Bones. I've got to get to the church early this morning to help hide all the eggs in the courtyard. You'll get Christine ready and be there by around 8:30 right?"

Resigning herself to the inevitability of morning, she sat up and confirmed she and Christine would be there. The plan was for Brennan to slip out of the morning service about 15 minutes before it ended to change into the Easter bunny costume and for her to be outside waiting when the kids came out.

When Brennan and Christine arrived at the church, they saw Booth talking to Max, Angela, and Hodgins. Brennan knew she was going to get teased about being a giant rabbit, but she found she didn't really care and was actually looking forward to it. As they had planned, she slipped out of the service a few minutes early to don her costume and prepare for the Easter egg hunt chaos.

The church had divided the courtyard area into a few different sections so they could separate the kids into a few groups by age. The older kids had to hunt a little harder to find their eggs and it allowed the younger kids an area to explore without being trampled over by the big kids.

Booth, Angela, Hodgins, and Max stood on the sidelines and watched Christine and Michael Vincent running around enthusiastically searching for the bright colored eggs.

"Look at her," Ange spoke to Booth, nodding her head towards Brennan. "I think she's having just as much fun as the children."

Brennan's costume was a full body costume that even covered her face, so none of the children knew it was her. The costume was white with a pink underbelly and she had a big fluffy white tail that bobbed up and down as she skipped around the courtyard trying not to trip on the oversized feet.

As they watched, she playfully approached a little girl who looked overwhelmed, then hopped away. Then she approached again, and hopped away again. The little girl recognized her behavior as a game and started to giggle and chase Brennan around until Brennan pointed out a hidden egg to her.

"Yeah." Booth answered, his heart swelling with love and pride.

*THE END*

* * *

**A/N: **_Hope you all enjoyed this little story. Thanks for the feedback._

_For those of you who celebrate it, Happy Easter._


End file.
